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Age Discrimination: 10 Things that Demean Older People

“10 Microaggressions Older People Will Recognize Immediately” From the Huffington Post

Editor’s Note: There are subtle things younger people say and do that demean older people every day. TV ads are glutted with culturally and technically out-of-touch older people. If you’re over 40 (yes, it starts young), and looking for a new job or making a career change, these negative stereotypes can create barriers and close off opportunities.This is age discrimination:

Saying an older job applicant wouldn’t be a good “cultural fit.”

What exactly is a good cultural fit anyway? If most of the office is comprised of people who don’t have family obligations to rush home to, does that mean no one can? We’d remind you that there was a time when a black or Latino hire wouldn’t have been a good cultural fit because they weren’t allowed to join the local country club to play golf. But civil rights laws presumably changed all that and an employer today wouldn’t dream of applying this standard to a racial or ethnic group.

Isn’t having age diversity an equally good thing? People of different ages bring different perspectives to a job. By 2020, 35 percent of the population will be age 50 or older. Who better to suggest products and services to bring to market than those who understand the needs of 35 percent of the population best? Doesn’t that make more sense than worrying if the new hire will participate in Karaoke night with the office crowd?